Roughly 1,500 motorists will notice a difference when driving along a portion of South Main Street in the township.

Four 10-foot lanes have been replaced with a single lane in each direction with a center turn lane. The fix, according to Summit County Government Affairs Liaison Heidi Swindell should be a temporary one.

"This condition will last until the county engineer receives funds to properly widen the stretch of road to five lanes," Swindell said.

Widening the road to five lanes would match what is currently at either end of the narrowed section. The length of the traffic merge points meets the standards set by the state and the county is monitoring traffic operation and performance.

"The change,” Swindell said, “will create a safer condition for the motoring public until we can get the funding to properly widen the roadway.”

Resurfacing of the road began in early August and was just recently completed with re-striping during the last week of August. A left turn lane at Warner Road was added along with a left turn signal at the intersection.

“By striping a left turn slot in both the north and south bound directions,” Swindell said, “we are providing a space for left-turning vehicles to stop and wait for either a gap in the opposing traffic stream or for the traffic signal to cycle and provide the motorist with an opportunity to safely complete their left turn movement.”

Future improvements to the stretch would cost an estimated $8 million to $10 million. The county expects the project to be done in the next five years if the federal funding money is available.